


Out of Depth

by simulacraryn



Series: All of This and Nothing [5]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: ATAN Universe, Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Borrowing Stuff from FT, Coercion, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Gundam Wing Rare Pair Big Bang, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Rare Pair, Slow Burn, War, headcanons galore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-15
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2018-08-08 21:19:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7773760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simulacraryn/pseuds/simulacraryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>‘You can’t do this alone’  is a line that has started many a stories, but for all intents in purposes, Relena had been right. Well, everyone. Duo could not lead a search and retrieve mission that could potentially endanger not just himself, but Sally. With Une at the helm of the ESUN’s corruption, Duo and his rag tag group must tread carefully.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Live to Tell

**Author's Note:**

> I did NOT meet the required 15k mark as a result of life and managing to fic-myself out on top of it all. I do plan to continue this piece, but it may take time as deadlines and I do not agree.
> 
> I want to thank Alexe, for the magnificent coverwork done for this fic. If I could, I would link it here. May edit down the line to showcase it. 
> 
> This is part of my "All of this and Nothing" series, which has been a beautiful series to work on for the last few months. A huge thank you to everyone who has read it <3

“Throw her in the brig, our plans have no place for anarchists and traitors. Find where in the hell she hid her findings and burn all the paperwork. The world can never know of what we've done in this facility.”

“What of the medical center, Dunsten?”

“We leave no evidence. Remove the successful experiments, the rest? Purge it.”

*˜*˜*

It'd been the last things Sally Po heard before someone struck her head with a blunt object. She had just learned of the horrifying story behind PsyOps plans. The sickening experiments that she hoped would have ceased after AC 195. It was almost reminiscent of Heero Yuy aka Pilot 01. But to Sally, the sad tale of RMA's meddling with ESUN matters had been more than just a bitter throwback to the days of the Alliance. It'd been dangerous, a point of contention that'd been the cause of an interplanetary war. But being in a solitary cell meant she could not deliver the information she needed to get to the remaining Gundam Pilots and those who abandoned Earth after the Crux Act's enactment.

The men who threw her in here were RMA's men, loyal to the money and sympathetic to the cause. Sally often wondered what the cause could even be, as nobody truly said a motive. Secrets were kept and now it left her wondering.

“I've got to get out of here,” - She whispers to the air, laying on the slab they called her cot. The thick scent of medications tipped Sally to the fact that she was in a Prison-Hospital. It also made the former Alliance Major consider what her options were. In her findings, RMA was using Prison Hospitals to guide their sick experiments. “They'll probably want me dead...”

She remembers Lady Une as she'd been during AC 195, a bloodthirsty and destructive entity manipulated by Treize and Romefeller into their doing. She wondered just how out of control she would be this time around. Her mind goes back to that fateful day when she heard Une's latest pet project Agent Sheila Dunsten conversing with Agent Nichol. It'd been Dunsten to have Nichol throw Sally into the brig. The charge had been treason and Sally questioned just whom she'd betrayed.

Certainly not the ESUN or it's people.

The fact that the facility she'd been stationed in was promptly destroyed, the people sacrificed to a “greater good”. It made Sally feel like dropping to her knees in front of the steel toilet and emptying out her stomach. That being if there was anything in it to empty out. A rush of vile sped up to her mouth and Sally forced it down. The burning sensation being enough to make her physically shake. She shook, her hands finding their way to her biceps as if trying to still herself. She'd seen the war through its worst, as a guerrilla in the depths of Eastern China, close to the Taiwan border when OZ and the Alliance tried to take over Asia.

“Fuck,” She muttered, footsteps echoing through the pipes. They were coming for her and she just had an inkling as to what they wanted. The door to her cell opened and Sally stilled her body, the light hitting her face straight on. Guards entered first, deeming the unarmed woman to be a danger they needed to be prepared for. Sally wished she could scoff at the ignorance shown by the idiots hired by RMA. Why if she'd been say, a Gundam Pilot then yes – their fears would be valid. - “General Une wishes to see you, prisoner.”

Sally's stomach sank.

_General Une_? Had she been promoted by the new shadow government that RMA was posturing as a hostile takeover of the ESUN? Or was it a homage to _General Treize_? Could it be her very illness, manifesting in such a manner? It both intrigued and worried Sally in ways that could not be explained. One guard forcefully grabbed her trembling arm, dragging her out of the holding cell. - “Move, the General loathed tardiness.”

“You know nothing of what General Une truly hates,” - She remarked, an insult that earned her the guard's meaty hand striking her across the face. But it was the truth, nobody here truly knew Lady Une and what she was capable of. Half these guards did not bear witness to Une's attempts to destroy a colony and they certainly were not there in New Edwards like Sally had been. Ignorance, the former Preventer determined, was pure bliss that would drive the planet straight to hell. 

The guard grabbed Sally by the chin, painfully squeezing and forcing her neck to look upwards and at him. It was an intimidation tactic that didn't faze Sally as much as most thought. “Gon' tell you this now, bitch. The next time you mouth off to _me_ , I will make you wish that General Une executes you publicly.”

Sally's eyebrow tilted, her sotto voce showing itself at that precise moment. - “May I remind you... _Sergeant_ , that General Une despite a vast knowledge of ruthless tactics, would never condone what you're suggesting.” - Oh yes, Sally knew the old code of conduct that 'His Excellency' instilled in his soldiers. This was something that no matter what was done to Lady Une, would remain untouched. Treize's memory would forever be honored and she would do nothing to besmirch her beloved Treize – this much was clear to Sally. The guard laughed, shoving her back to the wall. “Treize Khrushrenada is dead, why hold on to memories of the damned bastard?”

“ **Sergeant Niem!** ”

The commanding voice that called Sally's aggressor to heel was one she had never heard before. But after seeing her aggressor's frightened face made Sally think this person had to be someone with clear power in the RMA structure of power.

“Commander Nattono...”

Nattono… that name was certainly familiar to Sally's ears. Roche Nattono had been an OZ Soldier, more importantly, he'd been stationed out in MO-V during the war. Story had it that the leader of OZ Prize, the covert ops department of OZ/Romefeller had turned against OZ. This was when his subordinate, Farkill, directed mutiny against the leader of OZ Prize...

So why side with Une? Why after what happened in MO-V, did he choose to side with the enemy? Questions formed as Niem was dragged away by Nattono's guards...

Sally's face was likely bruising from the heavy backhand she'd received. Nattono took quick notice and made a disgusted sound, turning to the nearest of his men. “Take Niem away and ensure that General Une is advised of Niem's conduct. It is truly a disservice that men who claim to serve Lady Une, act so poorly. What sort of reflection would this be, upon the memory of His Excellency.” - A mouthful if Sally knew it, but judging by Nattono's body language, he was seemingly buying time.

The men dragged Niem off and soon, the door was closed behind Nattono's back. A few moments of silence passed, Nattono seemingly investigating for something… - no, he looked for a wire! What in the hell?

“Let me get straight to the point before Une summons me in regards of Niem. A select few of us are here to help you get out of Une's clutches.”

“Why are you helping me?”

“Let's say that this fire's gotten huge and there's a group of people interested in seeing the fall of RMA. I belong to such a group and we wholly support getting as many people out of Earth as humanly possible. I cannot say much right now, only that there's engels watching over you.”

“Don't you mean angels?”

“No, Engels. Same thing, different tongue. I prefer Italian, but our group prefers the irony of German, all things considered.”

The irony was far from lost on Sally, especially coming from Roche Nattono, former OZ officer. She'd heard all about the infamous Stardust Knights and the OZ Prize faction after the war ended in AC 195; never did she expect to meet anyone involved. But Nattono seemed friendly, almost as if he was toying with the situation at hand. “Of course it isn't lost on me,” - Sally whispered - “History would repeat itself if we didn't learn of the atrocities committed pre-colonial time.”

“I would love to stay and converse, but as my once mentor would have said...”

“The stage's been set and the actors must play their role.” - Sally finished for him, watching the personable blonde leave her alone.

*˜*˜*

Roche Nattono felt it in the pit of his stomach, this would be his final mission as a founding member of “Die Retter der Kolonien” or DRK for short. His organization had been formed as soon as Lady Une and RMA had overthrown the ESUN. Their leader, a former OZ Ensign by the name of Hilde Schbeiker had been quick to point that she did not take any bullshit. She allowed Roche and his wife Aretha on the word of their long time friend and preventer agent gone rogue [as of the fall of the ESUN], Lon Sernan. When Lon brought up the fact that a high ranking Preventer was missing since December and that her importance to the rebellion was dire, it'd been Roche to volunteer. Lady Une would trust anyone claiming to be loyal to Treize at this point… right?

“Commander Nattono, General Une requests your presence at once.”

Nichol's tone had sounded eerily like Une's had been back in AC 195. It disturbed Roche just how much the world was bound to repeat history in such a disastrous fashion. 

“I will see the General shortly, Colonel Nichol.” - Roche realized he was being dismissive towards Nichol; but in his view the other man deserved every bit of contempt Roche could manage. He sidestepped away from Nichol, making his way to see Lady Une. This was the perfect distraction, if all went according to plan – they could get Sally out of here and on her way off Une's radar. If he could get eyes on the DRK, then Sally with her information on RMA and Mortimer's final projects...

_Aretha, please be on your way. There is only so much I can distract the Iron Bitch._ He made his way to Une's parlor, where the General sat at the lone wrought iron seat in the center. A small bistro table holding coffee and paperwork sat before her, a familiar picture in Roche's eyes. - “Commander Nattono,”- Une's soft timbre filled his ears. Her voice was deadlier this way, he knew as much. - “I have been informed of Niem's conduct.”

Nattono did not dare take seat, time was limited and soon enough this entire place would fall like a house of cards. “May I ask as to why you chose to have him removed from the prisoner bloc?”

“General,” - Roche began, formally addressing the woman whose back he'd be forced to stab shortly. A tragedy waiting to occur and one he was truly sorry for. - “Niem was in clear violation of His Excellency's code of conduct. Treize Khrushrenada would have never allowed for his men to assault a prisoner, regardless of gender. I'd been patrolling when I spotted him in a prisoner's cell, visibly striking the woman.” 

Une's shocked face had been enough for Roche's point to get across.

“Thank you for the information, Commander. I will see that he is properly dealt with.”

_They could make you believe the lies they want you to believe, Une… but they cannot break your loyalty to Treize. This is a good sign, so far._ “If I may be as bold to suggest, General… that I take over prison duties during this period of time. Until we can get the men and women under our respective command properly trained.”

Une didn't seem bothered to think. Instead, she swept her hand and offered a small smile over to Roche. - “Permission granted, Nattono.” - Perfect, it was going according to plan. Once Une dismissed him, Roche made his move across the halls. Nichol was waiting to enter General Une's office, giving Roche a hard look. Jilted much? 

His wrist watch gave a light flash over the screen and Roche understood the signal. Aretha and their reinforcements were on hand to help release the prisoners. While Sally was the most important in their list, there were a few others that they knew had to be released. Picking around in his pocket, he found the small transmitter he'd outfitted out of earbuds. Roche placed one of the buds in his ear, listening to the instructions that their field commander would give out.

“ _Roche, this is Ralph – we're stationed at the blind spots from the encampment. Aretha is going to move a team through the old underground tunnels that Merwyn “forgot” to tell Une about. Myself and Merwyn are going to be at the safespot we agreed on. Are you still sure you want to be the lamb?_ ”

“Yes,” He whispered audibly enough for the microphone embedded in is button would pick it up. If they were to free up these people, there needed to be someone who would stay behind and pay the price. Ralph and the others had the task of getting the others out. Roche could pay the price, his time in the sun was done and he'd die for a true purpose. He'd dodged death in MO-V back when Farkill was in power and he knew there was no possible way to survive this one. " _Get in position, Roche. Aretha's already halfway through the railroad and reach you in ten… Once she's there, her people will start the evacuation. We may not be able to get them all to Space, but we can at least get them to Asia, or even Saudi Arabia where they will be welcomed as refugees._ "

Ralph didn't say more, but cut off communication. Roche made his move to relieve Officer Maur as he saw some of his comrades begin taking position…

"Three..." He counts as a familiar head of blue hair starts to show from a corner of a hallway, "Two..."

The impending blast took the other soldiers of the RMA by surprise, red emergency lights flashing as Roche turned to Aretha. "Start opening the cell doors and get them out of here, we don't have much time! Priority is Cell Twelve Twenty Six Eight." - His long time partner and now wife gave a heavy nod, making her way to where he pointed. *˜*˜*

“What in the fuck was that!?” - Une screamed, her hands slamming against the bistro table. Nichol frantically moved to one of the computers to try and assess the situation. - “All communications have been cut, General. It could be the work of the damned DRK.”

“Find them at once and leave no man alive, Nichol.”

“Ma'am, yes Ma'am.”

*˜*˜*

Sally was startled by the happenings around her. The emergency lights flashed as she heard the distinctive sound of doors opening and people being ushered and told to follow others. The familiarity of such sounds reminded her of evacuating New Edwards prior to Une's activation of the nuclear warheads in the facility. Soon enough, her door opened and a woman sporting short blue hair and a bleach blonde streak at the front entered. Sally was about to strike a defensive position when the woman began to speak.

“We need to run, now.”

Sally nodded, following the other woman out of the small cell. “Everyone, make haste and follow the others. We don't have much time!” Was the rallying cry of the people who had broken into the facility they were being held prisoner. The former preventer's training kicked in as her rescuer stopped to aid someone else. Sally held back, but the woman snapped her head in her direction. - “You need to go, Doctor Po.”

“I can help you get them all out of-” Sally tried to argue when another person cut her off to address Aretha.

“Aretha, so many of them are injured. We may need to leave them behind...”

“Goddamnit all, we can't just leave these guys here to their fucking deaths!” - Aretha snapped at one of her officers. Sally felt pain across her heart, knowing that the blue haired woman was right. - “Aretha,” Sally began - “I'll help evacuate the others since you guys don't have enough time”

“Roche,” - Aretha said into her microphone - “Some of these guys are in shit shape, we can't take them...”

“ _Leave them and leave me, RMA's people are on approach._ ”

Aretha hissed, moving towards the entrances they had used to get everyone in. Sally hastily followed and just as she was about to descend, she saw Aretha falter. “You're going to stay, aren't you?” - Sally bluntly asked, this woman reminded her of Noin so much at this point. 

“I have to. Go on without me, they'll get you out of this place safely.”

Sally nodded, grabbing onto the rope provided and began her descent. Once she was down in the barely lit railroads, Sally was face to face with a group of men and women. One of them moved, ushering her to the wagons they'd used to cart into the tunnel. “Where's Aretha?” The man asked, concern in his voice. 

“She chose to stay behind...”

“Fucking foolish woman,” The man spat out a wad of tobacco chew, effectively grossing Sally out. “We continue without her, tell Ralph that the dumb chit chose to die with Roche.”

The disregard for their comrades bothered her, if this had been one of the former Gundam Pilots… but it wasn't. The people walked as Sally ignored the ignorance around her. Instead her eyes found the various men and women who were setting up explosives in the cave. “What are you guys planning to do?” - She asked the man from earlier. 

“Block the road so they can't find you guys...what Roche and Aretha did...”- He sighed, barely composing himself - “We just lost two great people from our ranks as a result.”

The tone was that of mourning and it bothered her greatly. Had this been the plan all along, to sacrifice them in exchange of the prisoners? A loud 'move' was heard and once they were further ahead, she began to hear loud screaming along with explosions. “We need to run!” One of her rescuers bellowed from ahead of the group and Sally began a sprint, keeping an eye on her surroundings. Light began filling the tunnel, an end soon to be near.

Once at the exit, a tall man dressed casually awaited for the large groups. Sally noticed him approach the man whom she knew was an avid tobacco chewer. The tobacco aficionado spat once again to the ground, reaching for his tin and retrieving another bit of chew. “How many we got, Merwyn?” - said the casual man who Sally judged to be roughly around Relena's age.

Merwyn, in the light looked as if he'd been through quite a few wars. His right eye was covered with a patch, his right hand replaced with a cyber prosthesis that could pass off as a real arm. Probably military grade material if the man had been a soldier...

“Forty outta fifty. Five were too wounded to come on down and five were found dead in their cells...fucking ravaged corpses. Roche wasn't kidding, these fuck'eads were experimenting on humans.”

This info caught Sally's ear, had they truly begun? Sickened to her stomach, Sally breathed the fresh air and gave herself some breathing room. - “Ralph, we also lost Aretha.”

The man, now identified as Ralph, shook his head. “I figured she'd be the other lamb. We gotta get these guys on the caravans and get them eating some MRE's to get them through until we get them the fuck outta this area, or outta Europe entirely.” - Sally was able to pin point the colonial accents right away. Merwyn's wasn't as thick as Ralph's accent, she noted.

“Agent Po,” - She was finally addressed, by Ralph of all people. He approached her, handing her the keys to a car. “Engels watch over you.”

“Nattono said that to me,” - She whispered, walking side by side with Ralph. - “Who else is involved?”

“Lon Sernan, he's the one who told us about PsyOps and everything that happened. He was behind us finding you. These are the keys to one of our cars, there's a change of clothes and some basic items you'll need to get the hell out of Europe. Should you flee to an area with a high presence of our people, the DRK… find us by saying you wish to get in touch with our saviors. I'm sorry,” He paused, taking a bottle from Merwyn. - “We can't do more for you, but these people...”

“Need to get to safety. I can handle myself from here.”

“There's money as well. Saudi Arabia and Asia remain neutral in this conflict.”

“All I need to know.”

If it meant becoming a guerrilla member again, then so she would.


	2. Somebody Up There Likes Me

“Lady Une has been declared interim president of the ESUN following our triggering of the Crux Act.”

Zechs’ tersely broke his sleep addled thoughts that morning, jamming a cup of coffee to Duo’s outstretched hand. He was surprised they’d been able to get information through the channels now that RMA had jammed all the Pirate Radio signals after Heero’s wonderful stunt. It made Duo wonder who stayed behind on earth to fight the good fight against RMA and Une. He then winced when he took a sip from his 'coffee'. He’d gotten used to Earth’s coffee, the potency being less chemically engineered than the colonial farmed beans. But with Earth blocking trade like they had back in AC 195, the colonies resorted to trading amongst themselves and mainly with L4, through Quatre’s various businesses. - “Great, they really let the crazy bitch outta her muzzle.”

It was all Duo could bring himself to say before grunting a barely there good morning to Noin.

“Relena’s begun working her way through the system.”

“She’s hacking?” - An incredulous Duo remarked to Zechs, stunned. He knew Relena spent a lot of time around Heero, but never knew that the man taught her some of his skills. - “Apparently she picked up some of it from Pagan, the rest was Heero. Trowa’s in there, something about some algorithms being too rigged even for Relena’s skill-sets. Whoever is doing RMA’s work could be Colonial Born.”

Duo popped a piece of toast to his mouth, thinking about the potential of what they would be encountering.

“I’ll brief in my team after Abdul and Auda get in from MO Seven” - This statement seemingly quells Zechs, who has been acting as the team’s default intel officer. Given the man’s knowledge of Lady Une prior to her joining the Preventers, it made sense for the team to appoint him and Noin as their intelligence officer and team leader. The setup allowed for Quatre to continue supervising the development of weapons as needed.

Relena made public appearances with Quatre to quell the public, whilst Wufei, Trowa and Dorothy continued to tweak around with ZERO’s settings. It was both relieving and terrifying what they could come to, if pushed to a wall.

“Besides RMA and Une’s bullshit, anything new from Earth?”

“Nothing yet. Wufei did manage to establish a network for us that isn’t Pirate Radio. It’s a frequency that could go undetected, but we’re still testing it. Once we’re encrypted and properly geared for it, we should be able to use it for internal communication.”

Duo watched Zechs’ slow movements, a tired life hidden so carefully under the latest guise.

“So…” - Duo broke silence, casually leaning forward on the table - “Once I find out what’s going on with Sally...how the fuck will I get Earth side?”

“Leave it to me, Duo” - Noin responds, handing both men platters with a decently sized breakfast. Zechs dug in, seemingly famished. Duo, unlike most days took his time in savoring the meal. There was something bothering him in the pit of his stomach after having lost Heero. He'd the closest thing to a brother since Solo and now Duo was being adamant about finding the rest of their group. To keep them safe, away from Une’s bullshit…

“Duo,” - Zechs closed in, a near whisper as the smaller brunette finished gnawing on his toast - “I had a question, about what you said the other day when asking Quatre for a re-design on your Gundam.”

“About living to my name?”

“Yes…” - Said Noin with unease - “I was hoping you would clarify”

“Duo. Two. I first took this name as a tribute to my fallen friend, Solo. I said I would live for both he and I. Now I am more than just living, I am fighting for both Heero and I…” - There was a pause, nerves settling when the thought of becoming a fighter again hits Duo. Like a swift smack upside the head, Duo dodged Noin’s gaze. However, Noin smiled - her keen senses on point as always.

“So, may I go? I sort of need to start working on my own things.”

With a rapid dismissal, Duo abandoned the room in order to begin sifting through tasks. Sally would have done the same for them as soon as word got to her. As such Duo would move the world for her if it came to it. 

"When did Relena get started? Who is her second?" These were his questions as soon as he'd entered the makeshift command center that had been Iria Winner's Clinic, noticing the somber room.

"I am, Duo"

The Voice belonged to one of Quate's men, Auda. Duo recalled him from the wars. The Maganac had been Instrumental in keeping them safe and out of harm. And they, would die if Asked to by their master. A thought that worried Duo in regards of this war when faced with Une and RMA. A sociopath with a large following of Treize's Loyalists. Never in this life did anyone believe that she would manage such a following after the Eve Wars, yet RMA not only set her loose but got her an expendable budget.

"Duo, Relena has been trying to talk to you."

"Sorry. I was at a loss there for a moment, go on Relena."

He saw just how haunted she seemed, morbid at times to the point he feared for her mental health. “I have some findings, regarding Sally. There is a wanted poster, ten million dead or alive. She escaped from a top facility with some classified docs named Project 163-77X."

This caught Duo's attention in particular, Project 163 had been an OZ plan to legalize the use of medical manipulation of Colonial children to Breed the "soldiers of tomorrow". It'd been the straw that broke Relena away from politics, that much he knew from watching her expression: "They were planning to enlist inner city teens into their fucking "create a soldier" bullshit."

Duo felt sick to his stomach, the knowledge of why Quatre and Relena had invested so much into his program became clear to him. They were trying to stop an encore performance of history. "Une will stop at nothing.”

There is an ebb and flow to the people working in the makeshift station. The sounds of fingers clicking against keys in silent unison. Sally Po had opened Pandora's Box and RMA wants her silenced. "Duo, have we struck our hand into fire? It seems convenient that this would reappear now.”

This was the true reason Relena had been placed on this team. Her political prowess would prove handy against Duo’s street savvy. Auda and Kadal, Duo assumed, were here in order to keep Quatre apprised of matters. “Relena, dig further for me. Kadal, Auda - I need you to concentrate on potential locations Sally would head off into. From what Wufei told me, she had strong ties in Taiwan and in Busan due to her days as an armed guerrilla in AC 195. See if she's left us a trail of honey we can follow along.”

There was something gnawing that said he needed to dig on his own, but being a sitting fucking duck in L4 was of no help. Angered by his incapabilities of getting his hands down right dirty with someone’s face, Duo hastily marched out of the rooms. It would be best if he made his way to Dorothy in order to gain intel.

The woman gave him the hives, but not because she was related to Treize or Romefeller. It was her vast knowledge of everyone’s dirt and how she chose to weave it. In all honesty Dorothy was a dangerous woman to be near by in times of war. Crossing into her side of the house meant playing by her rules, something Duo disagreed with entirely. Thus when a head of long blonde hair came to view, Duo moved closer to where she supervised her crew. "A wild task for a wild card?"

She addressed condescendingly, an action that always made him feel ill. "Now isn't the time for games, Catalonia. Not when I have a race against time to find Sally before someone collects the ten mill on her head.”

“You want intel.”

Catalonia was to the point: straight forward and absolutely frightening. The way her face changed when being placed in her element had been an almost scary change. Duo lowered his head, near her face and spoke - “Yes, everything I need know about Une. About RMA and all their little bitches. I am sure you can discreetly have your birds carelessly leave things in the open for us.”

Dorothy grinned sinisterly, which meant Duo had been right. The blonde had vested interests in their success but just what, exactly?

“I could move the world, yes. Leave that to me, you should perhaps go sort the fruits Miss Relena has picked from the branches.”

“You were already making your move, huh?”

*˜*˜*

Sally looked around, Busan was a densely populated area of Earth and it was one of the few places that RMA could not reach to. Most of Asia had been neutral during the wars and this allowed for Sally to go hiding until she would be able to establish colonial contact with L4. PsyOps had been torture, gathering intel had been worse than working with Nichol. As soon as Sally was busted out of the madhouse, she altered her looks. Dying her blonde hair to a deep red and cutting it pixie style had helped, as did the gray lenses she bought off the nearby costume shop. There had been a few key details she would need to alter, like her digital prints and DNA and these weren't details you could just alter. 

Establishing contact with the Colonies would prove to be both pivotal and damning. But if she managed to get to the rest of her friends who were Space side before Une and RMA's attack, she'd be at least out of the crossfire and capable of helping in some way.

Through whatever underground news and black markets she'd been able to get a hold of, Sally had learned of one way she could establish her points of contact. There was a rebel group established by a woman whom had gotten stuck Earth-Side destroying RMA encampments. The group, aptly called “Die Retter der Kolonien” translated to English “The Saviors of the Colonies” were currently causing all sorts of hell. Sally had learned of them through Roche Nattono, the man who helped her break out of her captivity. 

RMA ensured that anyone who they knew was Colonial Born, would lose their jobs in retribution of the Crux Act's enactment. The local government was in an internal war that had been spreading like wildfire. If she could reach the DRK's operation base, she could establish contact with the colonies. It was mainly to get herself and everyone associated with the DRK extracted from Earth should an all out war break. Any innocent civilian lives needed to be evacuated,in the case the rest of the Colonies chose to drop "Op. Meteor 3.0" on Earth. So she pooled together all her resources and set to find the nearest watering hole. Local joints were the nest of the devil or so the said- local barmen, the allies of any major rebellion…

Common knowledge had it that the DRK's colors were a deep umber and silver, having a logo of sorts. Once she crossed the threshold of the bar, she moved past the crowds of local drunks and beelined it for the barman. A swift stack of cash she'd managed to pry off some corpses along the way [no comment on whether she killed them for survival or not, after all] and a sultry look to get his attention. " _I wish to get in touch with our saviors._ "

The barman nodded, leaning in comfortably and whispering: " _Take your money, I know who you are...even under that disguise._ "

When the barman removed his trucker hat to reveal silver hair and soon slid on a familiar set of sunglasses over his eyes, Sally was stunned. Mike Howard hadn't left for the colonies? This turned to be a welcomed surprise. The old man had been keen on Sally ever since they met on _Peacemillion_ all those years ago. Howard and Sally had been close over the years, only losing communication when she'd been drafted into PsyOps earlier in the year. " _Come with me,_ "- He urged Sally, ushering her to the back. His eyes briefly falling to a nearby barkeep, this one only a few inches shorter than Howard. Sally doesn't really get a better look when Mike pulls her to the backroom, shutting the door behind himself. 

He led her through a hallway, almost bridging between one building and another until they reach a door. Howard pressed his thumb into a keypad, a click is heard and the door swings open. Once they're inside, Howard points Sally to a single seat. "They're hunting ya like a dog, Sal." - He begins, half admonishing her foolishness and half admiring her guts. - "Joining up with the DRK may prove a bad move in the long term."

"I only need help getting Space-Side, Mike. The others, they need to know what the hell I've discovered." - She urged, her voice hurried and almost a whisper - "If DRK has any way of making contact, I gotta take it."

"Even the colonies are compromised. L2 is being used as a fucking prison camp right now," - The words sucker punched Sally. L2 always got the shit end of the stick, it was something they had all been working on fixing. - "L1 is still stable, economy wise. L3 has been completely cut off, no resources in an out and people are beginning to deteriorate. We haven't established any communication with L5..." Sally rolled her eyes, leave it to L5 to keep everyone at arm's length. She would understand after what the Long Clan had done in decimating one of their own colonies before it became the subject of Operation Meteor. The Long Clan, were told by Deikim Barton that their colony was subject of being dropped unto Earth as a weapon of mass destruction. Elder Long Shirin, chose to evacuate as many whom wished to leave the colony and then detonate the self-destruct buttons with the remaining martyrs of their cause. The effects of Long Shirin's actions had been lasting, to the point that a close friend of hers, Chang Wufei, had been left traumatized from witnessing the explosion.

Much like Asia stayed neutral during AC195, L5 was doing the same at this time. It was unsurprising to Sally or Howard for that matter. 

"And this leaves L4, right?"

Sally nodded, knowing what the answer would be. L4 was it's own government, much like Saudi Arabia was a Kingdom on Earth. Prince Sada Ul and his his ever loyal Maguanac corps would have welcomed Sally, but she had an inkling that if she'd gone to them it'd have caused conflict between the Kingdom and RMA. L4 was an offshoot of the Saudi Kingdom, founded by Sada's cousin, Prince Zayeed Winner. 

A Kingdom in Space.

If the Saudi controlled oil, the Fourians controlled mining.

"L4 is where the others are at, yes. Getting there will be a bitch, Sal."

"We still need to evac, RMA has some seriously fucked plans." Sally comments, sitting across from Howard. "If we and the DRK could join forces and evac all we can before hell breaks loose, it's a win. Plus, the others could attack cleanly if I can get them the info I've got on RMA."

Howard sighed, understanding just what Sally meant. Before he could add to her point, a beep came from a nearby monitor. He pressed a button, sighing.

"Lady Une is delivering a speech. Likely condemning the DRK, word has it she believes you're in charge."

"Ha." - Sally said mirthlessly. -"I am not proficient in German to name a group. If I had done so in Cantonese, then perhaps. RMA is truly looking for scapegoats, aren't they?"

Howard's nod had been all Sally needed to understand. "Looks like we have our work cut out for. So, where do we go from here?” 

Sally's thoughts went back to Nattono and Aretha. Both probably dead at Lady Une's call, especially after learning that they were members of the DRK. Resignation filled her mind, their deaths would not be in vain. "We need to leave Busan for a start. The DRK has a base in Siberia, last I heard. They took over the old OZ base there."

Classic, Sally thought to herself.

"Talk about a fuck you. When do we move?"

"Tomorrow, by nightfall."

*˜*˜*


	3. Upsidedown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY! Here is where it gets interesting: I did heavily borrow elements and characters from other AC related stories, as seen by the G-Unit characters that showed up early on. I know we all feel a certain way about the cesspool that is Frozen Teardrop, but I will heavily reference certain elements from that and a few other stories from here on out! Most of it is freebase headcanon, so feel free to shoot back and forth with me! I welcome discussion :)

General Une refused to believe that men and women who once had been loyal would betray her as such. Actually it was more troublesome how they betrayed his Excellency, Treize. Roche Nattono and Aretha Walker infuriated her beyond belief. Not only did they assist Sally Po in escaping, they denounced their following of Treize…

Nichol was currently interrogating both of them as she stood by a large bookcase.

“No need to worry, my dearest Lady. Men who betray our ideals have no place in our world…”

_That voice_ spoke again and it still bothered her so much that he was around. She'd seen Wufei Chang kill her beloved Treize during the tail end of AC 195. She'd known of Treize's intentions when he took her to MOII during the final battle. He confided he would die that day, for he had no future. Yet, the man had managed to pull a final trump card on humanity and much like Zechs Marquise had pretended to have died…

Treize had done the same.

Right?

Or could it have been her diseased mind playing tricks on her exhausted body. She'd suffered his death, so how could it be that he'd come back and touched her face...kissed her lips…

Pushing down the thought, Une steeled herself and took Treize's gloved hand. - "Of course not, Your Excellency. We built a world worth living and now, we must ensure that your vision remains the sole focus of our battles." - Her eyes met his briefly and then moved across to where the bodies of Aretha Walker and Roche Nattono laid prone. The blood was still fresh against the side of their faces from where the executioner shot through each skull. The splatter their brains made against the once ivory colored carpet brought a sense of pride through General Une.

The all-too familiar smirk over her face, dancing against her cold features…

_But why isn't Treize telling me this wasn't the way to handle traitors?_

_Maybe this isn't…_

_His Excellency would never lie to us! Are you betraying us, Saint?_

_Colonel, listen to me...this isn't right!_

_We cannot have traitors even in our own head..._

Une's eyes squeezed shut. She didn't see the syringe press against her neck, or the hands that pushed the liquid into her carotid vein. It was too late when she slumped forward, falling into strong arms that seemed to carry her away. - "Ensure that the General gets a good night's sleep. We cannot have her questioning her own mind… Good job on getting me the meds on time." - The voice that Une thought to be Treize spoke, handing the syringe back to the nearby aide.

The aide grinned darkly, disposing of the needle in an appropriate container. - "Of course, Vingt. We just need to find your brother's brat and all will be in order for our take over." *˜*˜*

Relena rubbed her bleary eyes, the mission had been taking a toll on her body and mind - but she pushed herself. It was her fifth day on the job, working sixteen hours or twenty as she continued to track down what was happening on Earth. She managed to connect various pieces with the help of Auda and Kadal. No news on Taiwan or Busan, at least none they could access easily as the networks had been tightly guarded. This left Relena exasperated, screaming in frustration…

The book closest to the desk found itself hitting the wall as the former Queen of the World breathed heavily. "Goddamn fucking Chinese government and their million fucking firewalls!"

The language was enough to wake up a visibly sleeping Duo. He'd crashed a few hours earlier when his eyes were heavy from the screen. Now, not he'd been only woken up; but also jolted out of his chair.. "Fucking shit, Relena!"

"Nothing is working on the leads you gave me, Duo."

"I hate saying it," Auda broke into the conversation, shoving a cup of coffee into Duo's stretched hand - "But...we could take a risk in contacting our branch of Maganac Corps in Saudi Arabia."

"Forget it,"- Duo vetoed the idea from the word go. The last time he'd been in Saudi Arabia, OZ had infiltrated the compound and nearly killed an entire village just to get to him and Quatre. He owed Sheik Sada Ul enough without proposing risk to the elderly man. - "We're not risking Sada's life."

"Sheik Sada Ul would die for Master Quatre, Duo."

"Why?"- He asked, directing the question at Kadal. Relena fidgeted, turning her face back to the screen in order to tune out the conversation. After a long silence with both Kadal and Auda debating to truly answer the question, Relena sighed... - "Because, Sada Ul is Quatre's Grandfather on his mother's side."

The words caught Duo entirely off guard. This meant that Quatre and by de facto, the entire L4 colony cluster…

"We're in a fucking space kingdom."

"Exactly."- Relena said with a devious look over her features, fingers deftly typing away. - "I'll begin to prepare us for a call to Sada Ul."

There's shock still permeating through Duo's entire body, his mind trying to wrap around the concept. Turning on his heel, Duo marched off to prepare himself for a trip he was afraid to make. Not because of Sally, he would do anything for her and without question at this point. It was just the unsettling feeling in his stomach that continued to drive him insane. A nagging sensation in his chest, just _when_ did he just feel this way towards the older woman? Maybe it was the fact they'd worked so closely together in regards of his charity work. Or the fact that he continually hosted her whenever she was in L2? He'd been tossing items in his backpack when the loud sirens began to ring across the place he'd learned to call home. “ _Everyone turn on the monitors at once, RMA is making an announcement!_ ”

Duo's heart sank, the worst of the worst came to his mind when his hand found the remote. Noin's harrowed voice brought chills down his spine in an ugly way. Soon enough, the television came to life and there was Lady Une… her hair done up into those signature goddamned cinnamon rolls from the war. Round wire-framed glasses over her eyes, a cold slant to the brown orbs… Duo studied her in great detail.

Her uniform was no longer that of preventers, but a variation of her OZ Uniform. The coat was longer and in a deep shade of purple with gold epaulettes. The black rose resting on the lapel made his blood boil. Whatever the RMA had done to her, they had certainly managed to twist everything to all hell. “People of Earth,” She began coldly. “I am here to announce the name of our enemy, the true threat to peace!”

Duo felt his body stiffen, the terrible feeling not washing away. Une made her announcement and he felt absolutely ready to throw up. “They call themselves Die Retter der Kolonien and they are preparing for war against us! This is my call to arms, for those of you loyal to keeping your beloved peace! Together, we can destroy the threat against us!” - Duo, unable to take any further marched out of the room. He took his things along and proceeded to make his way to the shuttle room. In there, he was met by Auda. The older man sat next to an unmarked shuttle, in his hand he held a package towards Duo.

“If you're planning to go to Sheik Sada Ul, present him with this. While he's always had a very compassing memory and it is unlikely he's forgotten you, this token will tell him that Master Quatre has sent you his way.”- Auda paused, his body impassibly standing there with the shuttle. Duo took the package under his arm, nodding. Auda, however, was far from done. “When you leave… we won't be able to establish signal until after you've arrived Earth-Side to Sada. The token...”

“Is a transmitter, right?”

“Exactly. Our comrades back at Earth can link it to our system.” - There was a wink from the kindly man as he retreated. Duo opened the shuttle and began to prepare it for his immediate depature. His heart in his throat as he starts to rationalize all of what he's doing. He could be going to his own death by doing this and then the team would be a pilot short. Groaning, Duo rests his hands on the control panel – his memory sharp on what each knob and button does. Shinigami would rise again, but he held some interesting introspect on the matter.

He would fight for both he and Heero's memory, yet Heero swore to never kill again. How does the god of death maintain the honor of a man who swore to never take a life? The weight of this vow crushed Duo's sense of honor, but he knew that he would need to kill in self-defense should it become a necessity...

“Duo,” - He heard a grave voice call from behind him. “Did you finish watching Une's announcement?”

“I didn't Zechs, why?” - Duo replies, never turning to face the blonde. His gut is in knots, dread filling every fibre of his being. “She executed Roche Nattono and his wife, Aretha Walker. Members of the DRK.”

Like being sucker punched in the stomach, Duo turned to face Zechs. Shock wore visibly over his face, but what shocked him more was the tear stains on Zechs' face. “Did you know them?” Duo asks, tentatively. Sure, they'd all seen death in the field...but to shock someone like Zechs? The feeble nod is all Duo needs to comprehend the subject. The lump at his throat barely settling down when he croaks out “I'm sorry...they must have been good people.”

“Nattono served under OZ Prize, the Stardust Knights division of MO V. He and Treize came up together thorugh the ranks. While Treize went on to lead OZ… Nattono had his own battle against Farkill, a rogue agent in OZ. He was a man of honor, who survived a hell of a journey. Une...”- Zechs paused, fists closing at his sides. “She executed them for treason. You need to bare caution, she's trying to link Sally to the DRK and label her an enemy of the state.”

“So the race against time's become even fiercer, hm? Well...you know Zechs.” - Duo gave a sardonic chuckle - “This is why I keep this, to remind me.” - the braided man rolled up his sleeve, revealing his Ace of Spades tattoo, the words on it clear as day over his forearm. _You know I'm born to lose, but gambling's for fools. But that's the way I like it baby, I don't wanna live forever._

“I'm gonna get Sally back and when I come back, we're gonna put our boots to her fucking ass for all she's done. I gotta go...make sure your sister doesn't go full Yuy on us, won't ya?”

Zechs nodded, leaving the shuttle. Duo closed the door behind him, preparing himself for departure. He looked at the workers near the hangar, diligently moving to ensure his departure. After hearing what Lady Une had done, Duo felt pressure at the base of his spine. Engaging his comm system, Duo felt in the zone. "This is Shinigami Actual reporting to Shadow Main. We are ready for departure."

Duo waited for a second so Shadow could respond. "This is Shadow Main to Actual, once we get a DCT from Base, you should be clear for departing." 

It took a few moments to clear DCT, but once that was done, Duo took off. If he kept steady and dumped this ship at L2 in favor of smuggling himself in a Sweeper Vessel. It would take time, but he would get to Earth. The unresolved pang in his heart made it clear that whatever this feeling was, him towards zealously tracking down the older woman, it would not go away. Reaching proper momentum for the ship, Duo set the controls and destination towards L2. It would be a risk to breach ship-space, but damn it would be worth it. Tinkering on the radio, he found a frequency that he knew most sweepers still used and began to listen. 

"I wonder how many of these guys still remember me."

*˜*˜*

It'd been a week since Howard and Sally left Busan. Using his leftover Sweeper connections, Howard discovered an underground network of refugees had gone under by becoming sweepers. Nobody kept track of the unwanted, as Quentin, the young mechanic on their aircraft had mentioned. Boarding a large cargo ship with supplies destined for Jordan hadn't been the issue, it was securing transport from Jordan to Sada Ul's base in Saudi Arabia. Ground transport would be monitored and the RMA had kept a tight choke hold on the borders these days.

"Why is airspace not as controlled, Howard?" - Sally asked, curious about the whole scenario. - "You'd think they'd have aircraft surveying the entire area?"

Howard adjusted his glasses as they sat in the hovel they'd secured in Amman (Jordan). Using limited cash, they had managed to buy clothes in order to blend in. In order to properly blend in with the women in the area, Sally opted for traditional clothes, going as far as wearing full head-dress (niqab) as to conceal herself. Howard did not need nearly as much to blend in, but he mourned the loss of his ever favourite Hawaiian shirt.

"They are relying on the Sweeper Crews to get shipments in and out, seeing as most companies rebelled against _them_ "- Howard dropped his tone to a hushed whisper, checking through the window. Amman was relatively peaceful compared to most Middle Eastern countries, but one could not chance it when an all out war is close to breaking thanks to the RMA's meddling. "One of their bargaining agreements is that the Sweepers get full control of airspace, including spaceports. But...not all Sweep Crews can be trusted. Some may have fully sold out, it's why I'm taking us to Sada."

Sally nods, dabbing a napkin to her sweaty eyes. "The issue we're facing here, Howard, is whether we wish to risk it by land or attempt to secure an aircraft from here to Sada's."

Howard sighed, that had been what withheld them for a week. Not to mention, there was the whole issue with avoiding some of RMA's people. He'd spotted them closeby and had immediately changed location, carefully moving as to avoid being caught. "Sally, we may have no choice but fight our way to Sada's. I can't get communication through, RMA has been jamming the signals here since the locals won't cooperate with them."

"Then we'll get our hands on weapons and try our best, I suppose. No point in hiding under these clothes, correct?" "For now, keep them. We're going to need all the help we can get." - The older man sounded tired, these wars were taking a toll on his health. Sally nodded, casually grabbing their limited supplies. They were strapped for cash and she knew they would need financial resources to even attempt to purchase anything from the underground market. A dainty hand reached within the linen dress, pulling one of the last keepsakes she had of her long deceased mother…

The gold chain with her mother's Rod of Asclepius, the true symbol of medicine, had been a gift Sally received upon becoming an Alliance Medic. Hot tears formed under her eyes as she pressed her lips to the chain, kissing it goodbye. Allowing herself a moment, knowing that her mother would understand...knowing that it was used to buy them some time, possibly even their lives. Slipping it off her neck, Sally extended the gold chain towards Howard. "Take it."

Howard stopped in his tracks, his hand reaching to remove his famous shades. Sally, in all her time spent around Howard, had never seen the older man sans glasses. What was revealed to her, stunned the young woman. The old man had _the same eyes as Duo!_ The uncanny cobalt, near violet hue…

Shaking her feelings off, thinking it was probably a farfetched idea, Sally tilted her head. "What are you doing with your chain, Sal?"

"We need supplies, Howard." - Why was it that his gaze felt so soul piercing? - "So I want you to take this, sell it and get the supplies we need."

Hesitating, Howard gingerly took the gold chain. Something about this felt so wrong, about selling this keepsake of hers. "Are you sure, Sally? We may never get this back."- She nodded, closing Howard's hand around the keepsake. -"I am dead sure, go and bring back the money. If we're going out to Sada's, we're gonna fucking go at this the whole way. They want us dead, Howard. We've gotta survive if we want to save this place from that psychotic bitch."

Conviction filled her as Howard finally relented, taking the chain. Once he was outside of the hovel, he tucked the chain away and instead reached for his own necklace. It was simple and it held both his and his deceased wife's rings. Marva would have understood why he did it, whether as Sally would always regret selling the last keepsake of her mother.

Back in the hovel, Sally flipped over her rucksack, sorting through the knives and little cache of weapons they'd managed to steal along the way. She organizes the items, knowing she needed something to pass the time. Taking the large leather holsters, Sally loaded them with weapons and began to strap them unto herself. Concealing the weapons under her dress would be a fine way, as no one would dare touch her considering the situation. It was a risk worth taking, right? 

When Howard came back, he looked tired. He closed the door, locking it heavily - and then shoving the large bookcase they used as a jam in front of it. "I got us enough, should get us through to Saudi Arabia."

"I strapped the weapons unto myself," Sally whispered, taking the wad of cash and counting through it. It was perfect, she could work with this. "We should take leave soon, I've been listening through the window."

"I take you heard we have friends coming."

Sally nods, "We need to make a run during the busiest time, we can blend in through the Bazaar. If I recall from my days before Preventers, there is an Underground Market that never truly got shut down. We can get a vehicle there… but, I cannot make the deal, Howard. It's going to be up to you."

"Unless we ca-"

Sally ignored the man, shutting herself into memories of her times during AC 195. If she recalled right, there was a Managac Outpost not too far off the Market... "Actually, Howard..."

"Did you even liste-" "Stop." - Her tone was low, her eyes focusing on the older man. - "There used to be a Maganac Outpost not too far off the Market. Unless Sada's gone and pulled them all off, there should be some presence of theirs still around. If my intel is still correct from my time in PsyOps, the Maganacs spread their numbers out rather rapidly after the wars, acting as peacekeepers in these parts of the land."

It made sense, in her head. The game is survival, right? "We'll make our move in a few hours, Sally. Eat up, we won't have too much time once we make this play. If your intel's still right...we could make this home stretch safely."

All they needed was time, but time wasn't on their side. Shoveling down the meager meal before her, Sally began to run through scenarios in her head. Was there any hope for them at this point and time? "I hear something," - Howard whispers in her direction, they duck away from the windows, finding spots. Howard's eyes met the nearest window as heavy footsteps are heard. "Goddamnit," He whispers tersely, could it be that the RMA's military personnel had caught on to them?

" **Listen up!** " - A booming voice is heard from what seems to be a nearby sound system - " **We are looking for members of the group known as the Maganac Corps. They are hereby declared enemies of the ESUN and any information regarding them will be valuable to finding these criminals. They have been linked as a secular cell of the DRK and as such...they are guilty of treason. Surrender now, or we will attack the city.** "

Sally's heart stopped briefly. "They're trying to get to the Fourians." 

"Well, it's now or never old gal, think we can make ourselves felt and get in the crosshairs of the Maganacs?"- Howard's toothy grin, another determining factor that this man had to be somehow related to Duo. Steeling herself, Sally nodded. "As soon as we see them, we begin assaulting in the direction the Maganacs fire. We'll sneak with their convoy if they go for the retreat. Odds are, they'll go straight to their fortress."

A loud bang is heard, forcing Sally to look out the window on her side of things. A familiar face came into view, standing on a large platform. Ahmad, often called Rashid's left hand, was the third in line to command the Maganac Corps. With a smirk on her face, Sally pulled Howard in her direction. Once Howard saw what she'd seen, he slid his glasses back on and nodded. "Let's make our move, now."

*~*~*

Pulling into the bottomless hell known as "CRASHBACK" had been easy, if anything, the easiest part. Crashback was a known sweeper pitstop in between colonies, and it was the best place to ditch a ship. Many low lives ran chop shops in the general area, and once Duo rolled up his sleeves to reveal the myriad of Sweeper Tattoos he'd accrued over the years, they did not question his cred. One of his old time suppliers, Ghane, took his ship in exchange for a ride on a sweeper vessel heading towards Ridayh, Saudi Arabia. _It felt too damn easy_ and Duo knew he would likely need to deal with whatever motherfuckers the ship had for a crew.

Ghane wasn't known for keeping the cleanest of contacts, but in this case? Duo was in a heavy pinch and therefore could not afford to be picky. 

"Yo look what we got here, ain't this a pretty little shithead in our crew. Boyo, this ain't the ship for faces like yours." - A thick brogue belonging to a stocky looking bastard greeted Duo upon boarding the ship. The self-styled God of Death sneered, leaning against the wall and looking in the direction of the old timer. "I heard this ship's going where I needta go, it may not be for faces like mine...but it sure as fuck ain't for 'tudes like yours either."

The old timer took the first swing and Duo grinned at the invitation, ducking under and kneeing the man's large stomach. The wind got knocked right out from his assailant and Duo straightened up, glancing at the other sweepers. A line was starting to form, when a woman rushed from the back of said line. Duo's eyes widened at the sight… 

"Leave him be," - The woman said, low toned - "And get back to prepping the damn ship! Take Dowes to the Doc, I'm sure Spaldock will love hearing he got into it already!"

The woman stood still while the others left, allowing for Duo to study her… and when she was done, Duo merely walked up to her and glared. It was almost befitting of one Heero Yuy, but not as well practised. "Getting yourself into trouble?"

Hilde crossed her arms over her chest, a serious look over her face. "You're taking a huge risk crossing Earth-Side. You're lucky I caught wind of you being in Crashback before any of RMA's spies got a lockdown on you. The hell you think you're doing?"

"Trying to find Sally, she's got intel we need."

"Goddamn...I've already lost two of my good fucking men trying to keep that broad safe!" - Hilde bit back, groaning. Duo's eyebrow quirked in question. "What are you going on about, Hilde?"

"Duo..."- She began, leading the way to the Captain's seat. The crew was preparing for launch and as such, he took the seat nearest Hilde and strapped in. Once she was down, deferring all decisions to her right hand man, Hilde sighed. "Roche Nattono and Aretha Walker both died getting Sally outta Une's grasp."

It did not take a rocket scientist to tell Duo that this was a DRK-Ship…

And that he'd just walked himself into the hellmaw of trouble.


	4. We are Nemesis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH GOD this has taken forever and has it really been more than a year since I began ATAN?!

Duo had never imagined he'd be face to face with Hilde as she was at the helm of her own vessel, the _ESS Adrestia_. Watching the hardened lines of her face, the battle she's been waging against the RMA taking it's toll. But it was listening to the horrifying accounts behind the deaths of Roche Nattono and Aretha Walker had been the worst. The way her teams believed Sally had royally fucked them over by choosing not to join them. But in reality, Hilde allowed for Une and her psychofucks to believe Sally was the true leader of the DRK. He sat there, a myriad of emotions ranging from stunned to outright furious. "I cannot fucking believe you're letting her fucking take the wrap of your shit."

Furious did not begin to cover how Duo felt at the turn of events. Good people died for what they believed in, but this woman before him wasn’t the courageous Hilde he’d once respected and even loved. Instead, the hardened Captain of the _ESS Adrestia_ held her ground - Duo’s sight becoming filled with the various scars that now decorated her face as she growled his way. - “She’s a fucking Preventer, her bread and butter was laying the blame at someone else’s feet. Fucks sakes Duo, Sal knew what she signed up for when she went about and tried escaping Une’s crazy fucking ass.” 

“It wouldn’t bother me as much if the woman was in on the whole scheme!” - Duo countered, knowing he was truly in the wrong end of the fight here. - “Hilde, Sally’s intel is what’ll help us take down Une and the RMA.” - His tone dropped to a near murmur. Whatever the RMA had done to her, it was painstakingly obvious that Hilde wanted revenge and would throw whoever was in the way to get it. Duo studied her, in depth and noticed the light limp to her walk - the pained look across her face.

“Who broke your hip?” - He asked, watching her pain gait give way until she sank into a large chair.

“Some fuckface,” She grunted, pouring herself a large glass of some nasty rot gut alcohol that could only be found at CRASHBACK. - “S’okay, he’s dead now. If he thought I wasn’t gonna snap his neck, he shoulda thought again. Marcks, what’s our next stop?”

“Earth! S’gonna be a bitch to get in through the spaceport in the Fourian Lands. RMA gon’ labeled them part o’us.”

“How close can ya get us to Sada Ul?” - Hilde said again to her First Officer. Duo hadn’t asked her for this, he couldn’t even bring himself to speak. He watched the tough exchange, trying to find a hint of a joke in Hilde’s face. He made his way to her, about to speak when she turned her head to him and said - “Sit here with me. Marcks is gonna be very busy steerin’ ‘Drestia to course. She’s a solid ship, but she’s manual heavy. Needed something close to Deconned in order to get around. Most new ships have the goddamned Tracers in their systems.”

“I know. I hate my New Albarn Spax. Can’t disable the tracer.” - He joined in the complaints, enjoying the camaraderie that came with seeing Hilde again. Though he no longer felt as if he loved her as one would a romantic partner, he did care. And that caring meant that his gut feeling was acting weird. But when one was nicknamed Shinigami, Death tended to linger like a tick, sucking the life away. - “Hilde, we gotta talk, _now_ ”

“Here?”

“Got anywhere more private? Rather not say this with yer crew onboard.”

Hilde came to her feet with unease, wondering what bothered Duo in such a manner. Leading the way, concealing the pained look in her face. Her hip wouldn’t recover unless she had a replacement, no docs would see to her now that she was officially labeled a damn enemy of the state. The more she left it unattended, the less she could help the resistance - therefore, she had to reach Sada and get seen by his people. Once in the room, she was met by Duo face to face.

Her face flushed, the act of the tough Captain was forgotten as she was faced with a burning gaze. “Why are you helping me?”

“Because yer an old friend, and I was headin’ that way myself.” - She began, pressing her hands against Duo’s chest. - “You need Sal. I need Sada. He has the doctors to help me and the men. Rashid sent me a coded message that his son is commanding the local troops. Une wants war, fine, take on the Fourians and see how far that shit gets ya. It’s all about money, Duo… RMA wants to control us all.” 

“And Relena’s playing into it?” 

“No. Can’t play into it when you already got duped. Fuck, need painkillers.”

Duo helped Hilde get into the bed, finding her pill packet and handing it to her. - “We’ll talk about this shit when we see Sally. We needta extract her, get all of our asses back Colonial side and then plan.” 

“Duo, I can only get you to Earth. Once I’m down there, Sada’s gonna hafta get ya’ll back space side. I'm gonna be your scapegoat. Let em think they gonna get me and I’ll aim to take down as much of the RMA as I can.”

“You were always a damn fool, Hilde.”

~*~*~ He stood at the deck of the _Adrestia_ , nursing a cheap beer while trying to comprehend the shit that had just gone down. Relena was way over her head from what Duo was understanding out of this entire situation. Une, RMA and even Relena lost sight of what humanity needed and/or wanted. “They’re all fucking insane.” - He groaned, throwing the damn can into the recycle disposal. He knew no one on board and as such, could not speak - he’d been about to see his own quarters when a young woman, wearing a heavy prosthetic arm approached Duo. - “Sir? I’m Athelia, Communications Officer. There is a call for you in Comm-Line 87-178-2 from L4.” 

Duo nodded his appreciation, grabbing onto the slide bar on deck and launching himself over the rail. Once he descended to the communications area, Duo was led away to the Comm-Link, where a spotty transmission met him. Once the static settled, Duo was met by Wufei’s face. - “Boy am I happy to see you, ‘Fei.”

“I see Hilde found you in one piece.” - Duo rolled his eyes a Wufei’s remark. Ever since Heero had died to save Trowa and Wufei, the two men had been withdrawn. Honestly, Duo welcomed his smartass remarks now, more than ever. It was a sign of good things, and they could use the morale boost.- “Yeah, well she’s looking like shit. What’s the update on the projects Cat had going on?” - Duo sat down once he was offered a seat, studying the way Wufei leaned against the desk.

“We’ll begin initial testing, was going to ask if you wanted any of us to test your suit?”

“Have Cat do it. Also, build another if possible for Sally.”

“Noin already requested it. Relena’s been learning to use the ZERO helmet, Dorothy’s been teaching her in case they ever need to switch.” - Wufei’s words cut through Duo like a well wielded cutlass. Relena abhorred all to do with Suits, but the woman was as stubborn as Heero had once been. The memory smacked Duo across the face and he was realizing that the women he’d once known were now becoming hardened soldiers in their own rights. - “Anything else?”

“Yes, Maxwell.- Wufei said hastily - “Relena found some intel you’ll find necessary, apparently Une is going to give an address regarding the colonies in Bremen. Ironic, that the new regime would use the old Romefeller camps for their first address? She has reason to believe that RMA is full of the few leftovers we never could get to. Dorothy’s been locked out of her data bases, Zechs and Noin are essentially blacklisted by the foundation…” 

“Now Zechs I could understand,” - Duo stretched in the seat. - “Noin too. She followed him to the end of the world, and she sided with Relena during the wars. But Dorothy?”

Wufei shrugged and the door behind him opened, Trowa’s body easily recognizable to Duo’s sharp eyes. There’s a non verbal exchange that Duo doesn’t really catch, but soon Wufei was moving and Trowa was taking his place. - We gotta go, we’ll contact you soon, Duo.”

Duo nodded, cutting the comm-link and breathing in. This entire trip was a nightmare in itself. - “How long till Atmosphere Break?” - He asked one of the young people on board, the androgyne smiled - “About twenty hours. You might wanna sleep, Hoss, cause it’s gonna be brutal.”

*~*~* Sally and Howard were backed into a flipped over car, Sally reloading while Howard checked their supplies. - “ The line’s tough, but we gotta at least clear three more of them. The Maganacs have gotten the snipers down…”

So what exactly happened? Sally could hardly recall it, the adrenaline rush had been both an easy way to throw her into the fight or flight response and she’d been in the zone, rather than truly focused on what went down. She and Howard _ran_ and as soon as they were spotted, a sniper tried to take them out. It’d been her timely call to Ahmad that spared their lives as the Maganacs began to strike down the snipers.

How the car got flipped? No one cared. These cities, Sally recalls, were used to war in pre-colonial times. They were also used to being bombarded by the Americans, to constantly be under the guns of several political powers. But it’d all changed when the Colonies were formed, yet the scars of old survived. - “I got them on lock, Mike!” - Sally cried out, pulling the trigger and managing to get another one down. A few maganacs moved, and both Sally and Howard saw the opening to jump into the open.

Though neither understood Arabic, she was quick to understand body language. Letting herself and Howard be ushered into a large truck, she grabbed onto an iron bar while another maganac pulled a launcher-gun and positioned himself. - “To hell with you, sons of bitches!” - He cried out, shooting an incoming squadron.

“Sahir, drive!”

“What about Ahmad?” - The driver said in even keel. - “We’ll grab him on the upswing!”

Howard shot Sally a look, watching the woman jump into Medic mode and begin attending to the wounded. - “Howard, pass me that kit! This one has a nasty bullet wound…” - Sally bellowed after nearly being thrown off by the driver’s sharp turn. - “Sahir, what the fuck!?”

“Had to shake off some leftovers, they flipped when we turned. Grab on to an iron and get Ahmad! We’re almost to him, Kurdali”

Sally stabilized the young man before him as a new figure entered the convoy. - “You must be Sally Po, Master Quatre mentioned you to us a few times before communication between L4 and us got killed.”

“I need to reach commander Sada Ul…”

“Sheik Sada Ul is aware of your needs. L4 has sent a retrieve team, don’t know how long until they get here, but it gives us time to get you briefed on what’s going on space side. Sahir, get us to the compound… we need to contact the _Adrestia_.” Sally and Howard exchanged looks, the older man gave a chuckle. - “I see that old clunker’s still operational.”

“You know the _Adrestia_?” - Sahir asked from the front drivers seat. - “Boy, I was there when that clunker was still commissioned to the Alliance. She’s a smooth ship, not too dissimilar to Peacemillion, just a later model. Good for transporting people, not too much for suits. Who is at the helm these days?”

“Their commander is a woman called Hilde, they credit her as the leader of the DRK. We’ve had no actual contact with her, but Master Quatre personally vetted her to Sada Ul.”

Howard’s glasses fell to the floor.

“Well shit, our help’s going to be a reunion with old friends…”

“I just hope they leave us enough presents.” - Sally remarked mirthlessly, recalling a young man who once commented about Christmas Presents during a certain rebellion. ‘ _Damnit, Duo…_ ’


	5. 'Now I can get you in, but you gotta get yourselves out!'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Arch of Palmyra is a reference to this beautiful artwork by the very talented Alexecinz, who also did the cover art for this story:
> 
> http://alexecinz.tumblr.com/post/152499487490/inktober-how-clearly-do-you-see-palmyra-gw#post-notes
> 
> See here for the fanfic coverart: http://alexecinz.tumblr.com/post/148469824985/gwrarepairbigbang-title-out-of-depth#post-notes
> 
> Now onward with your scheduled chapter!

Sheik Sada Ul had grown frail in the years since the Eve Wars, but he’d not lost his mind for a well placed battle. He knew that Ahmad and the others would return shortly, as he’d been keeping track of the RMA movements. The elder man stood from his seat, turning to one of his many soldiers and breathing in a wheezing breath - “Alhamari, try again to see if we can get a hold of Quatre.”

The soldier nodded, bolting off to the large communication station. Sada sat back, until the door opened. - “Ahmad, is that you?”

“I bring friends, Commander.” - Ahmad moved within Sada Ul’s line of vision. The doors opened to reveal Sally, covered in Kurdali’s blood - by her side Howard, looking like he’d seen better days. Sada wished he could move, but instead, he’d been wheelchair bound the last few years as a result of an assassination attempt. - “I see that, my boy! Mike Howard, now that’s a man I could use right now...and Sally Po. The world’s been trying to find you, in particular. Right now, too many people want you dead - but your luck it would be that we in particular, would much rather have you alive.”

Sally offered a smile to the elderly leader. She was reminded of her old village leaders, kind towards their own and allies - ruthless to the enemies that threatened them. Sally knew the maganacs, how they would have all died for Quatre during AC 195-196. Together, the old guerrilla fighter and the outlaw army had shared stories. Through her, Rashid and their comrades learned of Heero and Wufei and in return, she learned of Quatre. - “It is an honor to officially meet you, Commander Sada Ul. I regret not having the ability to meet you sooner.”

“Nonsense child, please sit - my bones ache. Sahir, gather everyone in here...we need to contact Rashid and the _Adrestia_.”

Sally held her arm to the older man, allowing him to guide her to a large communication center. Howard wasn’t too far behind her, exchanging pleasantries with Ahmad and Kurdali’s wife, Aluima. Once everyone reached the center, Sada Ul took a seat while the younger maganacs worked the comm links.

“When I was your age, I recall entering the ruins of Palmyra and having my breath taken away.” - Sada Ul began, slow and doting in wisdom. Sally and Howard pulled chairs close enough to listen, curiosity taking over the younger medic. - “Now it wasn’t over the beauty of Palmyra that I was breathless; it was over it’s destruction. The wars waged upon Syria were devastating, now you would think that the world would have learned after humanity wiped away the cradles of civilization from the face of the Earth.” 

“I am sure you are familiar with Duke Khrushrenada and his vastly storied rhetoric, Sally, but if there was one thing that Treize was absolutely aware of, and utterly abhorred the Alliance for, was the disregard of history and the destruction of preserved areas. When Operation Daybreak struck, I recall that Treize had deliberately drawn the Alliance soldiers outside of such areas, battling them on what would be determined to be “free zones.” - It was one of the reasons my men respected the Specials, albeit the fact we always had to fight one another.” - Sada Ul continued speaking, leaving Sally speechless on some of the tidbits she’d never known during the war. 

The young woman blinked briefly, allowing herself to absorb the living history lesson. She’d been about to speak when communication brokered through the two screens. - “Great Uncle,” - Sahir called from the screen areas - “I’ve gotten a hold of the _Adrestia_ and Commander Rashid is patching in shortly. The _Adrestia_ wishes to see Sally personally…”

Sally moved on to where Sahir moved out of her way. She looked up, a smile crossing her face when she saw who just so happened to be on screen. - “I hope you left me some presents this time, Duo.”

“I don’t know, I heard you’ve been having fun all over Earth. I’m almost hurt, Doc, you’re going around raising hell and don’t even invite me. ‘M glad to see you’re alive…” - Sally didn’t know what to make of Duo’s statement. Actually, he had a very odd look. He wasn’t the jovial man she was accustomed to. - “Anyways, I’m headed your way to get you out. Apparently this clonker’s headed down to drop a few gifts on General Cunt’s doorstep.”

“Duo! Good to see ya again!”

“Howard?! Well shit, just the man I didn’t expect. Hey, did you guys get patched through with Quatre yet?”

Howard shook his head, with both he and Sally glancing over to the other screen. - “Nothing yet. What’s Hilde’s ETA?”

Duo moved briefly, leaving Hilde some space to stand next to him. A smile filled her weary face, - “We’ve managed AtBreak already, we’re just trying to find a landing zone that won’t get us right into RMA’s open field. We’re close to your current location, but landing’s gon be a bitch. We’re delivering Duo and providing support to the Maganacs, but you guys will need to find your way back to L4.”

The other screen came to life and Duo was hoping it’d wouldn’t be Wufei, considering the history there. Instead, they were each greeted by Noin. - “Sally Po, glad to see you’ve survived the crazy bitch.”

“Glad to see I survived too. I have stories to share… now that everyone’s here, I wanted to say to Hilde that I’m sorry about the loss of Roche and Aretha. They were valiant people...who deserved to live.”

“Thank you, Sally. They died for what the believed in, we can only hope to be as brave as they are.” “Well babes, what’s the plan?” - Duo interjected and left the floor open for Noin to provide them with some information. He didn’t know what to make of Sally’s relieved look, or the occasional look she would shoot in his direction. His stomach was fluttering, as he supported Hilde’s weight against his side.

Noin swept a hand over her bangs - “Zechs has begun testing for the flight modules on the new suits. We should be a go within the next week. The ZERO helmet is working appropriately, Dorothy will assume command of that while Relena will address the masses. On the MS Front, we’re a go. But, this is where it gets interesting - We need to find a way to retrieve Duo and Sally from Earth. Commander Sada Ul, Quatre informs me that you had some sort of idea?”

“I do, but right now we’ve been under attack across our fronts. Sahir and a few others are going to release our Tragos and MS reservoirs to counter. It should be enough time for the Adrestia and crew to land.”

Duo adjusted Hilde at his side, heart thumping and adrenaline beginning to cycle over his body. - “For today, that’s all I need, once we land, we can re-purpose the Adrestia as a means out of Earth. If we can get her underground so that your people can repaint her, she’ll be a means for Duo and Sally to escape.” - The Colonial woman was serious, like a woman ready to face her maker would be. - “Howard…”

“You can count on me, I already told Sally I knew that old clunker back in the day. I can perhaps re-purpose her to serve as a carrier ship. Seems we’ll be needing one… Right, Noin?”

“Zechs will be pleased to hear you’re willing to help us, Howard.”

That settled some of their problems, Duo thought with some bitterness. But they would be stuck Earth-side longer than expected. - “Any news of the Iron Bitch?” He asked, long ago having tuned out the strategic talk. None of it really had to do with Duo at this point and time, but he needed to know. - “Relena says nothing has been spotted. She’s still on the lookout.”

“Duo, we’ve got a clear landing…” - Hilde remarked tiredly. From Sally’s side, Sada Ul touched her shoulder - “Come, we will need to help the wounded.”


	6. "I could have sworn I put my pants on this morning...so why does it feel so breezy around my crotch!?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit this took for fucking ever to update. Not gonna lie, I'm taking it a day at a time when writing. :)

Hilde surveyed the area that Sahir had directed them for their landing. It'd been rough and several of her men were busy tending to some of the wounded who didn't handle Atmosphere Break let alone their landing. Regardless, she was glad to have made it to Earth alive, without getting shot down entirely. Her eyes fell to one side, where Duo was lighting up a cigarette he'd probably bummed off someone on her ship. - "Shit's gon' kill ya." Duo flickered some ashes off from the tip of his cigarette, almost laughing at Hilde's choice of words

"Either this, or Une. Either way, we're dead motherfuckers - I'd just rather enjoy what little life we've got." - He'd been close to saying more when the sand beneath them started to shift, forcing Duo to look at the horizon, where one of the infamous underground bases began opening it's doors. Several ground vehicles and repair mobile suits made their way stealthily using their camouflage. Hilde, taking note of what was happening, shouted in the direction of Marcks. - " _Marcks!_ Get the injured personnel to the front, a med truck's comin'!" - She limped her way through, only to fall wayward - she would have collapsed fully unto the sand had it not been for Duo quickly grabbing her back unto her feet.

"I gotcha."- He whispered as one of the med trucks pulled up in front of him. The back doors opened to reveal more of Sada Ul's men, assisting Hilde unto the back gurney and instructing Duo to remain near the unwounded survivors. It'd been the man's cue to rejoin Marcks, the man looking like death warmed over since they had basically crash landed the Adrestia. - "They say another group will come back to get us, they're dragging the old clunker to the base for Howard to start working on her."- Marcks nonchalantly, pointing and doing a quick headcount of their group.

"We've got roughly about fifteen able bodied men right about now,"- Duo began, flicking the finished cigarette away. - "Don't you have other cells Earth Side?"

"We do,"- Marcks said as a large van pulled up in front of them. Roughly ten got inside before it drove off. - "Ralph Kurt and Lon Sernan have leadership of the crew that got Sally out of Une's grasp. They're headed to Bremen as we speak and we were supposed to supplement them. We've got another group, stationed in St. Petersburg. A third cell is in the JAP Point, took over the old Alliance Marina base there. A fourth cell's currently in Edwards Airbase, you know making ourselves at home before RMA realizes we're in the old strategic points. Being former Alliance members, or even former OZ has been an advantage. Especially with some of our higher ups..."

Duo tilted his head in Hilde's direction, impressed by her little group. Between securing themselves bases left and right, their rescue of Sally Po and now potentially recruiting Sada Ul's men? It was a far cry from the woman he'd met in space so many years ago. "Contact Ralph, tell him to get his people back to Japan. Then tell Lon to get his people back to Russia. We'll start moving as soon as humanly possible from here."

"Hilde,"- Duo interjected, noting her resolve in her movement. - "Ya ain't planning to die like the fool you're sounding like...right?"

"Me?"- She coughed painfully - "I lived with the God of Death. This shit don't bother me..."

It was all a blur for Duo, for a med truck parked right in front of them, the back doors getting thrown wide open as various medics came out. Hilde was loaded into the med truck first, under protest and soon enough, Duo felt an arm around him. His head whipped to the side, finding a pair of kind blue eyes staring down at him. He recognized Sally on the spot, noting the changes brought on by the time spent on the run.

"You look good for someone who just crash landed."

"Usedta it." - Duo shrugged it off, allowing for the former preventer to guide him away from the Med truck and into one of the civilian cars helping load up DRK members. - "I'm glad to see you." - He reminded her whilst they piled into the car.

"And I you."

*˜*˜*

Howard stood at the hangar, watching as the mechanic mobile suits dragged in the Adrestia. He whistled at the amount of damage he'd be working with and turned towards Sada Ul. - "This clunkers too badly damaged. I can scrap her, but her weapons systems could be adapted into a smaller shuttle if you've happen to have one around." - It was awful to see the Adrestia be finally deconned, but Howard understood it was for the best. 

"I've got some spare shuttles. But those would be easily targeted. No… we could instead do something else. Follow me,"- The elder said, slowly turning around. As with any monarch of a kingdom, Sada Ul did possess his Royal Shuttle. It'd been years since he'd used it, but it was maintained should it be needed for Quatre or his sisters to use. At this time, he was willing to use it for someone outside of Quatre's use.

He led Howard through a vast door in the hangar, revealing a large shuttlecraft painted in Sada's favorite colors. A light blue and silver, his personal coat of arms on the back of the shuttle. 

"Sada...this is yours." - Howard spoke, humbled.

"And that young man is your family, as much as Quatre is ours. We can afford to die here if we're to die, but if I can help you get your family to Quatre… then I'll use this. Not like I use it anyways." - The older Shiek responded, turning his head towards a few of his own engineers and addressing them in their native language. The men's looks went from questioning to determined, soon saluting their leader. - "My engineers are yours, too. Do what you need to do, Howard."

"It'll take me at least two days to fit the weapons in. Testing it will probably take a day or two more… when your medics are done, have them send Duo to me. He's faster than I possibly could be at my age."

The kind Shiek retreated, leaving Mike Howard to stare at the work ahead of him. A week tops, if people would listen to instruction. Three days if Duo was still good around a ship. Did they have enough time to make this work without it becoming a potential risk for the civilians? He shook off his sunglasses, wiping them against his shirt absently. - "Well, looks like I get to go I against I."

*˜*˜*

Rolling into the base, Sally was on her feet helping the medic teams sort through the personnel. It was a case of lining non-threatening injuries versus the riskier injuries. The surgeons took Hilde straight into a separate room, knowing her to have the most known/visible damage. She was about to wash her hands when she was stopped by one of the medics. - "You're needed elsewhere."

She shrugged off the lab coat and exited the office, a slight sway of her hips with her strut. Sally was met by Duo standing with his back against the wall, hands behind his head and a cigarette hanging from his lips. Sally took note of the carefree stance, belying his true intent. Unlike the other pilots, Duo always carried himself with a devil may care air to him - even in the face of certain doom. - "You gotta light, doc'Po?"

He spoke, the cigarette soon being caught in between his fingers and a wink being shot in Sally's way.

"I sure do...if you don't mind letting me catch a drag or two."

"You don't smoke, Doc."

"Never too late to start with the stuff I've seen..." - She said mirthlessly, producing a lighter from her shirt pocket. Duo took it, as he pulled another cigarette with his lips from its pack. With an expert flick, he light both at once - passing one over to Sally. "Tell me about it… I thought this fucking war bullshit was over with. But then, they went and killed Heero and drove Lena beyond the edge… like fuck..."

"Duo, they're playing all of them."

"Makes me wonder what the end game is..."- Duo took a long drag from his cigarette, watching Sally. - "I could have sworn I put my pants on this morning...so why does it feel so breezy around my crotch!?"

Sally laughed at the joke, almost choking in the inhaled smoke. - "Because Radotech is hoping they caught us with our pants down. And they did by killing Heero, ripping away one of the beacons of human hope from the world. But what they didn't know was, that causing the death of that young man would inspire so many to be as reckless as he was."

"Sal, we need to get back to L4 as soon as we possibly can. Relena isn't as stable as everyone thinks she is. Fucksakes, she's Zechs' sister. If he could threaten to drop a fucking spaceship on Earth, could you imagine _her_ in that mind frame?"


	7. Common Denominator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY AN UPDATE! 
> 
> So ya'll know, I will try to update more frequently. It's taken it's sweet damn time, hasn't it? I'm so sorry for the delay.

Repurposing the Adrestia would take at least a year from what Howard told them. Between him and the Maguanacs, it was determined that they had enough engineering and mechanics to sort the job between themselves. Meaning Duo was left often bored over the hours spent over the plans. A month had passed already and he was growing ancy listening to the reports from Zechs and Noin back Spaceside, how limited they were. He didn't know how Sally managed to keep busy, but then again, half the DRK team that landed with him needed medical attention.

Her expertise was put to better use than his, he supposed.

Another week would go by before Duo slammed his hands on the desk and stood abruptly, forcing himself away from the planning boards. He sauntered off to where he knew Hilde and the DRK members were staying, finding Sally seated over a bowl of -god only knew what exactly. He grabbed another chair, pulled it and plopped down unceremoniously. - "I cannot take this sitting around."

"Me either. We have eleven months or however long it takes them to prep us for Space. I thought about joining Hilde's guerrilla group here and getting out there. If they're blaming me for _this_ , then why not?" - She jammed a spoonful of food into her mouth, allowing Duo to tilt his head to one side in thought. It was a sound idea, except he knew Hilde was a hot-headed fool who led from her emotions, rather than rationally… it could prove risky. It could get them killed.

But damn, it beat being sidelined until kingdom come. It was better than worrying about Zechs' tendency to leave out important information that would inevitably get back to Duo. How, you ask? Why, Trowa of course. The remaining Gundam Pilots knew better than to truly place their trust in Zechs, considering his brilliant track record. They were liable to trust Dorothy or Relena than the former leader of the White Fang. After Heero's death, the remaining four had become close knit - almost _deadlier_ than ever before.

"You're really thinking about it?" - Duo asked, propping his elbows on the table and leaning forward. A resounding crack from his spine reminding him of his aches and injuries forced him back to sit straight. - "I am. I owe her team some gratitude. They lost some good people to get me here. What about you?"

"I'm about to eat a bullet with how bored I've gotten. Why not reap some Radotech bastards and send them straight to hell while I'm stuck on this rock, being useless for a whole year?" - He grinned, mischief filling his eyes as Sally dropped her spoon back into the plate. The clanking distracted Duo from his thoughts as he shook his head to regain focus. Now it was a matter of aski- _no,_ telling Hilde that they planned to join her ranks. It would be an argument waiting to erupt, as Hilde preferred that they remain behind in Amman whilst she and her troops moved across the globe.

Not like she was in any proper condition to lead them, right?

"Do you think she'll like your idea?" - Duo asked, earning a shrug from Sally. - "Not much of an idea, or choice. She needs the experts. I don't doubt her skills, shit, she got this far on them. But truth be told, her numbers have been getting creamed for months since she lost Nattono and Aretha to Une's ruthlessness. She has what? Ralph Kurt from the Colonies?"

He'd continued rambling, with Sally nodding at the last part. - "And who else?"

"Lon Sernan, MO V survivor and Preventer gone rogue. Good guy. Used to pal with Roche and Aretha from what I've heard. Only seen his work courtesy of my time in PsyOps." - Sally stretched her stiffened limbs prior to grabbing her plate and heading to the sink. Duo followed shortly, not quite hot on her step, but close enough. - "He was pretty damn good on field from what I saw, but as you know..."

"You were captured fairly quickly."

"A set up if we'd ever seen it, too."

He'd never noticed the edge to her voice until that moment, as she bitterly spat out the last syllables in the sentence. A story to be told later, when Sally wasn't mulling over what was the more upsetting part, if the fact Radotech was using Une to destabilize all the progress they had collectively reached over the years… _or_ the lives it'd claimed already. In truth, everyone's head went back to Heero and how he had died at the beginning.

Sally had found out during her travels about his noble sacrifice and she'd yet to have the time to honor his memory. But that could wait, until the very end of this ongoing conflict.

"What are you thinking?" - Duo asked, casually picking up on her expression. Sally shrugged, turning her gaze towards him. - "About Heero. I was always in awe of his will power. To know that he isn't here, that he can't lead the hearts of others as Quatre handles the team leadership… it baffles me. When you all were young, I was inspired by you to rebel. Now, it's like ..." She stopped mid sentence, trying to grasp the words when Duo's hand took hers. He didn't know why he'd been urged to do so, but it was merely the right thing to do.

"We didn't just lose someone. But we're fighting to keep the past from creating the need for another one just like him."

He could have said more, but instead, he heard heavy footsteps coming their way. Marcks wasn't an imposing man, but he was easy to spot when he approached anyone. Marcks' eyes didn't turn towards Sally, but instead focused on Duo when he cleared his throat. -"Hilde wants to see you before we leave for our next base."

Duo nodded, casually resting his hands on the back of his head. - "Yeah? Funny, I wanted to see her too. Kinda got a year worth's of time to spend here on this rock, we'd figured we'd make ourselves useful to you all."

That cockly lilt in his tongue didn't go amiss, nor did Marcks' scowl. Sally read the body language, noting the apprehensive way the DRK member glared at Duo. - "We don't need you. We risked enough getting you here and now we're stuck without a way out ourselves."

"Hilde's willing to die, but ya ain't. Figures as much. Look buddy, cowards aren't needed when you're facing former Oz Members and fuck all else Une has at her disposal. When you believe in something, you gotta be willing to give your life for the fight. It's _war_ what we're up against." - Duo's tone didn't surprise Sally, especially given how condescending Marcks had been towards the former pilot. 

*˜*˜*

Hilde sat by the hangar, a leg hanging off the side of a discarded engine as the mechanics tore down the Adrestia. Her men were pissed off that she was making them stay on Earth, but truth was, she needed to dismantle as much of the Radotech bullshit before the others could come in and handle the rest. This was her love letter to the Gundam Pilots, a sign of respect for those who truly fought for peace. Now it was her turn to actually fight, instead of playing pretend as she'd done when she joined OZ under the guise of helping. She'd sent Marcks to fetch Duo and Sally, truth being, she couldn't lead her troops alone.

At least not on Earth.

And after losing Aretha and Roche, she was hurting in serious leadership roles. So why not offer it to people who served their time and knew the war they were up against? If only until the rest could come down from L4 and the adjacent colonies? The sound of people coming through caught her ears, Hilde's head whipping to the side as she found Duo walking alone. She didn't dare ask where Marcks went, especially not with the look of fury in Duo's eye.

"You have some balls," He said out right and Hilde supposed she did earn the reaction. - "All these years and you still _know_ I'd deny you nothin', you know that?"

"Duo, tell me right now you wouldn't give your left nut and part of the right to get your hands on Radotech."

Silence.

"I thought so." - Hilde jumped off the engine, cutting the distance between her and Duo. - "Now, what's it gonna be?"

"I'm taking Sally with me, yanno?" - He said dryly. 

"And a group of Maguanacs, per Sada Ul's instructions. I don't plan on guiding you too far from the Adrestia for your missions. I plan to take Marcks and my crews into Europe. I need..." - She paused, sighing - "I need you to reach into the Middle East and Asia. Sally, she has contacts you know. Get numbers, get people to rebel against the bullshit before the Colonies decide it's better to wipe it all out from existence. You damn well know leaving Zechs in charge of shit too long means double the potential of ships falling down on Earth."

In that moment, Duo felt _something_ stir. It was a dull ache he'd not felt since Sister Helen died in his arms, he's sworn he'd never felt this way in **decades**. But one always knows when the Reaper's coming. So he reached for his long time ex and just, _held on_. Hilde didn't resist it, perhaps she too, felt the same. Death loomed over their heads, swinging a pendulum over the threads of their lives.

"Duo..."

"I know. Just, fucking promise me you won't die in some stupid manner."

"I can't promise you that. Fuck, I hate when you get this way!" - She bellowed, pressing her lips to his in a goodbye gesture. - "Duo, take the teams. Get people. _Survive_ , because the coming times need the God of Death. When you get those people, take them to Lon Sernan. He's based out of Mongolia."

He could have said more, should have said more, but Hilde was soon releasing her grip and leaving.

If only this didn't feel like the bitter end was coming…

"Damn you, Hilde..." - Duo muttered, forcing the emotions back in order. Except, there was no forcing it - not when his head lowered and tears brimmed his eyes. He couldn't stop her and now, someone else he once held dear, would become yet another corpse. The common denominators between Father Maxwell, Sister Helen, Solo, Heero and now Hilde were war and _himself_. Perhaps he should not take Sally along for the mission. _That way she could survive._


	8. Nothing's Impossible

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it has taken a while, but at this point ATAN in itself is a work of love. I also had another major story unveil itself to me in the shape of Hilde's version of events. I find that in order for OOD to move into it's final stages, I need to actually begin telling Hilde's story. I know it's been a major side trip but, I promise this entire series _does_ have an ending and it'll be massive. Thank you all who have read, commented or just shown support. :)

It had been a month and a half since he and Sally had set themselves on a deep excursion of the world. These were parts unknown for him, as he’d never crossed past Amman during the Eve Wars. However, in order to cross into Mongolia where Lon Sernan and his team were stationed at, Duo knew they had an arduous journey by land. The small DRK convoy that Hilde had given them on top of the Maguanac Corps members was absolutely dedicated to the mission of freeing their world from what the RMA had been doing. The first few weeks had been an absolute pissing contest between Duo and this team of DRK punk kids, that was until Sally, with her expertise and years of militia leadership took control of the situation.

She’d de-escalated the tensions and put her foot down to the point even the more grizzled members of the guerrilla group deferred to her as if she were Hilde. They had mapped a path by land, that would avoid any water crossing as they wouldn’t be able to secure passage by sea if it became a necessity. Instead, they went from Amman, cutting across Jordan in order to get through Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, part of China and then Mongolia. It was going to be a complex travel route, but Duo had been reassured by Sada Ul that these particular countries had Maganac Outposts where they could refuel and take shelter. As well as grow numbers for the big assault Hilde was planning.

The young militia members did not seem to comprehend what the plan was, but Duo and Sally were quick to reassure them that once they reached Mongolia, they would for certain be able to begin a move. 

That night, they’d taken shelter in Ashgabat. The Maguanac Outpost in the capital of Turkmenistan was vast, but it’s members were what threw Duo off entirely. He’d known that in Pre-Colonial times, this country had been a part of the dreaded Soviet Union and as such, the influence of Russia was vast and wide. The Turkmens, he’d learned from Sally, were a Nomadic culture in general and whilst their language bared similarities with Turkish and other similar sounding languages, it also now borrowed heavily from Russian.

“So wait, once they declared their independence, didn’t they start restricting their own people from leaving the country?” Duo began speaking as they sat one around the table in the outpost. - “I mean, it sounds complicated if you ask me.”

Sally reached for a glass of water, nodding in Duo’s direction. - “These areas have always been conflict zones, always will be. Even after the ESUN declared open borders across the world and the colonies, the central asia area as well as the middle east, continued in their natural state of conflict. Even Preventers kept themselves out of it, unless it was to assist the Peacekeeper corps in their humanitarian missions. The fact we’re being given safe passage means a lot, Duo. These borders are impossible to get through on a normal day.”

“I doubt,” - Duo began again - “That it all had to do with Sada’s influence.”

This time, one of the local Maguanacs laughed.

“Shiek Sada Ul may be leading the Jordanian forces, but the Maguanacs weren’t his original creation.” - The older man, Shalam, spoke in a thick accent. - “Sada and his son were welcomed into our forces, yes. But have any of you asked Master Quatre just who founded us?”

Sally turned her head, calmly trying to comprehend. The last name Winner had been as Caucasian as it could sound, many assumed Catherine Winner had been French and she’d married Zayeed Ul. But the assumption now seemed incorrect considering the information they were given. But before she could add further to it, Duo addressed Shalam- “We’ve never truly pried into Quatre’s family history. He’s always been very reserved with it, it wasn’t until I was in L4 with Commander Rashid that I learned some of the history of the colony.” 

“Typical Master Quatre, he continues to attempt blending in instead of assuming his position as the next Sultan of the family. Sada Ul holds his humility in high esteem for this exact reason.” - Shalam smiled and for a moment, Duo is reminded of Rashid. - “Well, it is not my story to tell for now. Someday he will tell you. But for now, we are glad to lend you our support. Whilst we as nations disagree with one another, we can all agree that living under one regime would be trading one master for a far worse one.”

“For that, we are eternally grateful, Shalam.” - Sally said, tearing into a piece of the offered bread. It would be a long trip, but one where she figured, they would make connections.

*~*~*

Retreating into one of the bunks, Duo felt uneasy. He’d been watching the people, perhaps paranoid, or sensing something in the horizon. He’d been about to begin changing into his nightclothes when the door swung open, Sally storming into the room and closing the door behind her.

“Something wrong?” He asked uneasily, tossing his shirt into the bag of clothes he’d brought for the trip. Sally took a seat on the nearby chair, nodding slowly.

“There’s word of an RMA outpost not too far north from here. Shalam wants to go in tomorrow night and clear them out. I think we shouldn’t give them that ample window to move in on us,” - Sally mused and Duo reached for the once discarded shirt. He agreed wholly, and knew that if they were to tell the DRK members they brought for the ride, that they would have a good chance of handling it tonight. - “You have a plan?” He asked, reaching down for his rosary and kissing the cross.

“You, me and maybe Heldic can go in. Word has it they’re a small contingency. If we can disarm them and sabotage their stuff, we can buy some time for Shalam to lead an assault tomorrow.”

Burying his feelings regarding the plan, Duo nodded in understanding. Sally however, caught the flash of expression and turned to fully face Duo. - “You don’t think this is a good idea.”

“It’s half-cocked at best, Sally. It could be a small contingency, but it could also be a fucking set up. We go in, we get killed.”

Sally shot Duo a dark look. It wasn’t like the former pilot to not take risks and it was deeply bothering her that he was adamant in holding off. A million ideas floated through her head when he stood up, scratching the back of his head.

“Look, my job is to get you back to L4 alive. Going in half cocked compromises everything I came here for. If this shit didn’t run the risk of compromising my primary mission, I’d be all over it.”

“Then let’s be all over it, together. Because whether you like it or not, Duo, I’m not letting these people get sacked to all hell because you’re worried about a revolution that’ll happen whether my body is physically in L4 or not. Noin and Zechs would be doing the same thing I’m doing right now.” - Sally muttered, starting to make a move for the door. It was pointless to get him to agree, so she would make her next move be to Heldic’s bunker. At least he would be liable to assist her. If that didn’t work though, she’d happily go off on her own to sabotage the attacks.

Duo took note of her resolve and immediately grabbed one of his shirts, tossing it over his head. - “Wait!” - he called, pulling down the cloth and following Sally at once. - “I’ll go with you.”

“Good. We’ll get Heldic and-”

“No. We can do this without putting anyone else at risk. We go in, sabotage the fuckers and come back as soon as we can.”

He was formulating a plan in his head, following Sally out the door. They were silent on their way down to where Shalam had mentioned earlier that the weapons could be found, but upon reaching that part of the outpost, they were greeted by a few of the other Maguanacs. They were seemingly loading up a convoy, when Sally and Duo both stopped in their tracks. A blonde woman stepped from within the group and Duo didn’t need to ask her name, not judging by the looks. This woman was certainly a member of the Winner family, likely one of Quatre’s many sisters.

“You two must be Quatre’s friends,” - Her voice was gritty, as if she had screamed herself hoarse and her accent was a blend of Earth’s Arabic Dialects and L4’s distinct lilt. Duo and Sally both held themselves respectfully, nodding in her direction. The woman smiled, running a hand through her blonde locks - tousling them as it appears they’d been confined into a prolonged updo. - “I am Zurah Winner.”

“Duo Maxwell.” - Duo outstretched a hand in Zurah’s direction. Sally was impressed upon hearing the name, quietly approaching the woman. Once Zurah had finished greeting Duo, she turned to the one who had approached her.

“Sally Po,” - She began, taking Zurah’s hand in her own with an appreciative smile. - “You’re one of the Unified Nation’s most valued historians. I’ve read quite a bit of your work, admire your studies on the history of war conflicted zones and their attempts in reintegrating with the current establishment.”

“I had quite the debates with Quatre over the years. It was actually he who inspired my work. We were meant to release a co-written effort before this atrocious debacle. I am glad, however, that you are both well.” 

Shalam was not too far away, bent over a table going through what she believed were plans. Sally was about to address the local Maguanac Commander when Zurah did not release her hand. - “Might I ask what you two are up to?”

Duo rubbed the back of his head while Sally, assertive, addressed Zurah with the utmost respect. - “We were hoping to begin destabilizing that RMA Outpost not too far from here.”

Zurah turned her head to Shalam, addressing him in the area’s native dialect. The conversation was rapid, yet short. Duo assumed it was a very to the point conversation when Shalam was pushing weapons unto his hands. Duo took them with a nod, whilst Sally reached to grab some of her own. In a surprising move, Zurah reached for a belt neither Duo or Sally had noticed in the various tables. Zurah strode ahead of the troops, urging everyone to huddle close.

“We have various areas rigged with explosives in that area, right?” - Zurah asked once they had gotten in the same huddle group. Various people nodded as an answer, with Zurah pursing her lips in a thin line. - “Good. we’ll detonate as each group alerts us of their successful evacuations. Then a second team can sweep and get as much evidence as we can to pass it to the ESUN gateways in Space. I know we’re a pacifist nation, but we must act in defense by viable offense. Either we take them on now, or they take the villages. We have members of the DRK with us, ensure that whatever we do, does not affect their safe passage.”

“Zurah,” - Sally addressed the other woman - “Are you planning to begin the detonations and keep them going throughout the night?”

“Yes. By creating chaos in general, it’ll give you guys room to move in the morning. It’s not a fail proof strategy, but by engaging that outpost and isolating them from any counterparts, we’re able to get not just you guys out of here - but we’re able to keep them busy for a while. Raise enough hell and it’ll force their hands to actually fight an enemy. Get ready, we begin in thirty minutes. Be also ready to leave once they begin sending reinforcements.”


End file.
